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Maria Jesusa Delgado Curbelo Smith Lee

Dear Reader: Do you think you are related to the individuals listed in this post? Please drop me a note! I love hearing from cousins and others researching my family!

To look at me, you would never guess that I have Spanish ancestry, but one of my fourth great-grandmothers was Maria Jesusa Delgado Curbelo. She married my fourth great-grandfather William John Smith (aka John William Smith), the first mayor of San Antonio and an Alamo messenger.

Maria’s exact birthdate is up for debate, but the most recent source I found (her gravestone) lists it as Christmas of 1815. While she was born in Texas, her family history has been traced back to the Canary Islands by other researchers.

After William John Smith died in 1845, Maria eventually was married again — to a gentleman named James B. Lee. This tidbit allowed me to find Maria’s gravestone (I think) on FindaGrave.com.